Brendan Schaub thinks the UFC is doing a disservice to its heavyweight division.
Schaub, a retired UFC heavyweight turned comedian and MMA analyst, believes Jon Jones should’ve been stripped off the heavyweight belt after suffering a torn pectoral muscle, an injury which ruled him out of his title defense against Stipe Miocic. Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) and Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) were supposed to headline UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 11 – a card that celebrates the UFC’s 30th anniversary.
“UFC missed the boat on this a little bit not stripping him of the belt,” Schaub said on his YouTube channel. “When he beat Ciryl Gane, he’s the heavyweight champ. When your champ is out at least a year with this injury, there should not be an interim title fight. It should just be the vacant belt.”
Immediately after Jones’ withdrawal from UFC 295, the promotion booked an interim title fight between Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall.
UFC CEO Dana White said Jones would likely be out for eight months. Schaub believes the UFC is underestimating the severity of a torn peck and expects Jones to be out for much longer, which is why he thinks Jones should’ve been stripped.
“Jon Jones tore his pec, and I don’t mean like a slight tear,” Schaub said. “They’re saying he tore his peck off the bone. If you know anything about these injuries, which I do – I’ve had pec issues. I’ve had many friends who were professional athletes who have torn their pec, and when it’s completely torn off the bone, this is not a fast turnaround time.
“The UFC said minimum eight months. Minimum. That’s assuming he has surgery, they have to open up and reattach that muscle to the bone. There’s a lot that goes into a torn pec, so I assume he’s out probably a year. Jon Jones probably isn’t fighting for probably a year. He’s not getting any younger.”
